Pakistan: Partner attacked while rescuing Christian teenager
Mar 18 2008
Postings >> Pakistan

Radicals shattered the windscreen and forced the car off the road – and were only prevented from further violence by the chance arrival of a police car on routine patrol.

Lawyers from CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement) are no strangers to threats of violence in their work defending Pakistan's religious minorities.

On this occasion, CLAAS director Joseph Francis was trying to help 19-year-old woman who had been abducted, raped, forcibly converted to Islam and married to a much older Muslim man. The woman, who was kidnapped on February 3 and held for 16 days, managed to escape from her captor’s home and immediately sought CLAAS' help.

Her Muslim 'husband' filed a writ against her family to try to get her back – while CLAAS lawyers formally accused him of rape, abduction and forced conversion.

Francis and colleagues from CLAAS were transporting the woman to a safe house at 3am on 6 March when their attackers struck. They describe their escape as 'miraculous'.

* Praise God for His protection over the CLAAS team and the woman.
* Pray that CLAAS will successfully prosecute the woman's abductor.